Tag: commitment

At the big announcement Thursday, Jawon Pass kept shuffling the hats on the table in front of him, hats from Louisville, Alabama and Auburn. He seemed to give the UofL hat a little extra care, placing it in the middle.

Over the past few months, Pass had received offers from 20 schools, arriving at his final three after eliminating such programs as Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, LSU, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

The pressure from top programs was relentless. Pass had just visited Alabama the day before his announcement, Auburn during the past week. In the end, Alabama and Auburn would not make the cut.

When time came to make his decision, UofL fans held their breath as Pass slowly declared,

“For the next three or four years, I will be attending … the … University … of … Louisville.”

Carefully and lovingly placing the red hat with the Cardinal logo on his head to stay, confident in his decision.

There it was, Bobby Petrino, along with assistants Garrick McGee and L. D. Scott, had won one of the school’s biggest recruiting battles ever, over two of college football’s most respected programs. A five-star quarterback who checks in at an impressive 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds with 4.5 speed is on his way to Louisville.

Pass said he chose UofL for a number of reasons, including his respect for the UofL coaching staff, which he believes will prepare him for the next level. It didn’t hurt UofL that his brother, Khane Pass, had committed to UofL in August last year and will be a freshman safety of the roster this season.

Major college football recruiting, being what it is, fans can expect some programs to continue to recruit Jawon Pass. But they will probably be wasting their time. The commitment seems to be pretty solid in favor of Louisville. He loves that UofL hat.

“It’s a good fit for me,” Pass said. “I’ve got a good relationship with the coaches and that’s just where my heart was at.”

This welcome news from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution may shed some light on recent movement within the ranks of the quarterbacks in the University of Louisville football program:

Will Gardner, a 6-foot-5, 214-pound quarterback from Coffee High School, committed to Louisville over offers from Alabama, Mississippi State and Southern Miss on Monday. He also had serious interest from Florida and N.C. State, according to his coach.

“Will went and visited all of those places, and he felt the most comfortable at Louisville,” Coffee coach Ken Eldridge told the AJC. “He’s really improved since last season. He’s the type of quarterback where the sky is the limit. We’re talking about a kid who is totally dedicated and committed to getting better. He’s a legit 6-5, and has put on 18 pounds since last season. He’s also dropped his 40 speed from 4.73 to 4.63. And, of course, he has a cannon for an arm.”

Gardner threw for around 1,400 yards and 14 TDs last year as a junior at Coffee, which runs multiple offensive formations including the Wing-T, Option and Spread offenses.

Quarterman on How is Spida Mitchell so Cardinal Red?You tapped into a great angle on a great player. I can only imagine what he could have accomplished with another season at the University of Louisville. What a player,